Using Ubuntu Nautilus (File Manager), how do I get proper context menu items in list view? [duplicate]

You can get the right-click menu relative to the folder by right-clicking the folder in the "breadcrumbs" header.

The problem is that you are selecting a file while right-clicking so the right click applies to the file then selected. I see two ways to deal with the matter:

if your folder has not too many files, you can actually right click somewhere at the bottom of the list where there isn't any file.

If you're folder is 'full of files' (no empty space at the end of the list of files), then you can always go with keyboard shortcuts:

• if a file is selected, you can press F5 to deselect it (there should be probably many other ways to do this).
• Then for right clicking without selecting any file, press Shift + F10